The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

Harold had been thinking about a lot of things lately, and meeting Tyra this evening hadn't helped. She had just succeeded in making him more concerned about everything. Usually, things like this didn't bother him too much. He knew that they wouldn't hurt Tyra, and he and Alvin could handle themselves. But now, there was Alicia. It would have even been better if she was the only one he would have to protect, but Alicia just happened to be a busybody who cared about everyone. He had a feeling that when there was conflict, instead of saving herself, she would want to stay back to save others, just like she had done when they had been attacked at the marketplace.

With a heavy sigh, he went to stand by the window in his chamber, staring at the painting of Queen Anne, which he now looked at as a painting of Alicia.

His lips involuntarily curved into a smile as he used his forefinger to trace her face. He hadn't been kidding when he said only someone with such rebellious looks could harbour her soul and foul mouth. Her real face was more befitting than Princess Amber's, and he didn't think so just because she was more beautiful than Princess Amber.

She was more beautiful, yes. But unlike Princess Amber, who looked somehow fragile, weak, and princess-like, even though she was not, Queen Anne looked more like a fighter. Maybe it was the way her eyes seemed to shine with defiance.

A part of him wished this was the person he was married to, and the sensible part of him reminded him that it was her he was married to. It was that defiant soul that possessed this frail body.

He folded the paper and returned it to his pocket when he heard Alvin's footsteps from outside and turned to the door just as Alvin knocked and walked in as usual. From the look on Alvin's face, he could tell that Alvin had questions he needed answers to. "Did you relay my message to Paulina?" Harold asked, and Alvin gave him a nod.

"Are you aware that the king is not feeling well?" Harold asked, and Alvin blinked at him in surprise. It was the first time he was hearing about this.

"Since when?" Alvin asked in confusion since the king had appeared to be healthy when he saw him earlier that day.

"That is what I need to find out. I only just heard of it today." Now that he thought about it, he recalled that the king hadn't had much of an appetite lately. He only ate a little or spent his time talking to Alicia before he left. He had also noticed the king usually left his morning assembly and meetings quite on time.

He wasn't surprised that the king had not mentioned anything about it.

"You know what it would mean if anything happened to him right now," Harold said, and he didn't need to spell it out to him for Alvin to get the gist.

Both brothers had sworn before their father and the entire court to not fight against each other, and they both knew that the king was the only thing keeping Ivan and Harold from slashing each other's throats. The moment the king died, Harold was aware that both the Queen and Ivan would come after him, just as Tyra had pointed out. And it wasn't just his life at risk anymore. He knew that Ivan wasn't fond of Alicia, and that meant the queen didn't like her either. They wouldn't mind trying to hurt her first just to get at him. And he feared it was going to work.

Damn it! How did he let his guard down so much?

"Try your best to keep an eye on Ali... Princess Amber," Harold said dismissively, and Alvin nodded but remained where he stood.

"What else do you want?"

"Is Princess Amber... alright?" Alvin asked, and Harold raised a brow as he asked,

"Are you worried about my wife?"

"You just asked me to keep an eye on her," Alvin said defensively. Who would have thought Prince Harold would be this jealous and possessive over his wife? So much for not wanting to get married.

"She is fine."

Even though Alvin knew he probably shouldn't ask, he couldn't stop himself. He needed to understand what was happening in order to do a better job of protecting her.

"Why couldn't she remember what happened?" Alvin asked tentatively.

More than that, he wanted to know why she had seemed so shocked at the thought of killing those men when she had handled the weapons so expertly, as if it wasn't her first time doing so.

Although Harold trusted Alvin, he couldn't bring himself to tell him anything. It was better if he was the only one who knew about Alicia. Besides, how could he explain to Alvin that Alicia was not Princess Amber? Or was it that Princess Amber was not Alicia? It had been easier for him to believe it since he had met her trying to escape in the woods before knowing she was his supposed bride, but how could he expect Alvin to understand it when even he didn't understand it? Believing something was one thing, but understanding it was another. Thinking about it now, he remembered that there was something else he needed to do.

He couldn't entrust it to Alvin, as if he did that, Alvin would find out that Princess Amber had been living in exile before coming to the palace. It was something he needed to do by himself.

Alvin, who was still waiting for Harold to answer his question, was on the verge of giving up when Harold finally spoke, "I will be away from the palace for some time. Keep an eye on Princess Amber all the time and also on that palace maid," Harold said, and Alvin wasn't surprised that his question had been ignored.

Until now, Harold didn't keep secrets from him, but it seemed like where his wife was concerned, he had secrets to keep. "Where are you going? The village?" Alvin asked curiously.

"No." Princess Amber's kingdom. He had to visit that place. Maybe he would get answers to all this.

"When do you plan on leaving?" Alvin asked when it occurred to him that Harold was not going to tell him where he was going.

"After the banquet."

"Three days?" Alvin asked, surprised at how soon it was.

"I have a bad feeling," Harold muttered to himself. Guests would start coming into the kingdom the next day to greet the royal family. And the banquet would be held in two days. There were a lot of werewolves coming in for the full moon hunting ceremony. His wife was human.

"What is going to happen to Princess Amber and her maid during and after the banquet?" Alvin asked, sensing why Harold was not comfortable with this.

Well, there was going to be only one solution. Harold thought to himself as he looked at the empty jar of wine on the table. If all things went smoothly, she would drink it and fall unconscious for a full day or two, and by the time she woke up, everything would have ended.

But he was still very skeptical. Because they were talking about Alicia here. Nothing ever went as planned with her.

Dinner that evening was unusually quiet. Everyone had something on their minds, so they didn't even think about how awkward the silence was as they ate.

When Alicia finally looked up, she noticed the atmosphere, and her brows pulled together as she observed everyone. She had been lost in her thoughts earlier and didn't realize how weird it was.

She noticed Harold steal a few glances at the king, who was eating the food uninterestedly. Her eyes moved from the King to Ivan, and at the same time, their gazes met, almost making her flinch from how scary he looked. She quickly looked away from him to Luciana, who was barely eating her food. Tyra looked the same way. In fact, she looked quite dull today, and it seemed she hadn't put much effort into her appearance, as Alicia had noticed she usually did. Susan also wasn't eating much, and her brother looked exactly the same. It was as if the cutlery was all heavy tonight.

The last person was the queen, who seemed absent-minded.

What was happening to everyone?

When the king cleared his throat, it seemed like it was a bell that had snapped everyone to their senses. They all stopped eating and looked at him as he began to speak,

"I am sure you all are aware of the oncoming banquet that is going to take place in two days." He paused and looked at all of them before he continued, "Tomorrow, several dignitaries will be coming to the palace and will be hosted here until the banquet is over. I am hoping everyone is going to be on their best behaviour."

"Prince Ivan and Prince Harold are going to be in charge of receiving the guests. I am counting on you two to not make any mistakes." The king said, making both Ivan and the queen grit their teeth in anger.